4.  The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Yerevan.
5.  The applicant alleged that on 5 and 9 April 2004 at 9 a.m. he was taken by police officers to Shengavit District Police Station of Yerevan where he was kept in a locked room until 7 p.m. and 6 p.m. respectively. He was neither questioned nor offered any explanation as to why he was being detained by the police. No records of his arrests were drawn up. The applicant claimed that these arrests were intended to prevent his participation in major demonstrations which were organised on those dates in Yerevan by the political opposition.
6.  On 20 May 2004 the applicant was taken to the Shengavit District Police Station of Yerevan.
7.  According to the record of the applicant’s arrest (արձանագրություն բերման ենթարկելու մասին), the applicant was “arrested at 7.45 p.m. on the Nzhdeh street ... for disturbing public order”.
8.  According to the applicant, he was in reality arrested at home at 5 p.m. after a police officer visited him and asked him to accompany him to the police station.
9.  The arresting police officers reported to the chief of police that:
“... on 20 May 2004 at ... [we] were patrolling on Nzhdeh Square and noticed a man who was swearing out loud. We approached him and tried to call him to order, however, he did not follow our instructions and continued his unpleasant behaviour. The said citizen was brought to the police where it was established that he was [Mr Gasparyan].”
10.  The police officers drew up a record of an administrative offence (վարչական իրավախախտման արձանագրություն) in which it was stated that the applicant was accused of committing an offence envisaged under Article 182 of the Code of Administrative Offences (CAO). The applicant refused to sign any of the above documents or to make a written statement.
11.  The applicant alleged that at the police station he was first taken to the chief of the police station. Thereafter he was questioned about his participation in demonstrations and about his support for the opposition. He told the police officers that he had not committed any public order offence, to which they replied that in any event the case had already been decided. The applicant asked them to allow him to appoint a lawyer, which they refused.
12.  The Government contested this allegation and claimed that the police officers had informed the applicant of his procedural rights and had advised him to avail himself of his right to have a lawyer but he did not wish to do so.
13.  According to the applicant, at 10 p.m. he was taken to Judge G. of the Shengavit District Court of Yerevan (Երևան քաղաքի Շենգավիթ համայնքի առաջին ատյանի դատարան) who, after a brief hearing, sentenced him under Article 182 of the CAO to eight days of administrative detention. The judge’s entire finding amounted to the following sentence:
“On 20 May 2004 at around 7 p.m. [the applicant] was using unaddressed swear words on Nzhdeh Square, and when the police officers warned him and called him to order, [the applicant] became upset, continued to behave in an unpleasant manner, and disobeyed the lawful orders of the police officers, for which he was brought to the Shengavit District Police Station...”